27 September 2018 Recruiting Future Antarctic Scientists

I just had the wonderful opportunity to visit with the 5th graders at Windsor Elementary School in Orem, Utah. A special thanks to Miss. Reid for the invitation to visit with these energetic, future, polar scientists.

Sharing stories about "Explores" with the Windsor Elementary 5th graders

Our first discussion talked about "Explores". We learned about equipment needed for different explores. We played a game where I pulled out different pieces of equipment that an explorer might use, and the students would guess what type of explore it went with. Some of the equipment I showed the students which went with the first explorer were: Helmet, knee pads, rough-looking backpack, a headlamp and 2 back-up sources of light, water bottles, map, first aid kit, pee bottle, and snacks not easily smashed or crumbly. Can you name this explorer? Find the answer at the bottom of this report. I then took out clothing and equipment needed for an an explorer who works in the extreme cold of Antarctica. That equipment is shown nicely by the photos below of the students wearing the ECW (extreme cold weather) gear.

This stuffed penguin (my wife made this for me) is the only penguin we can touch.

These students will make some great polar scientists someday. Here are some of their questions that these curious students asked that we discussed:

Question 1. Where is Antarctica? Answer - Antarctica is at the South Pole.

Question 2. Is there any land there? Answer - Yes, Antarctica is a continent that is larger than our United States. Only 1% of Antarctica is NOT covered with ice. That area is called the "Dry Valleys" of Antarctica. That is where Mr. Dickerson will be for his expedition.

Question 3. Are there Polar Bears there? Answer - Nope, Polar Bears live on floating ice in the Arctic (North Pole area). Penguins at the South Pole, and Polar Bears at the North Pole.

Question 4. How will I get there? Answer - I will leave Salt Lake City on a plane to Houston. From Houston, I go to Auckland, New Zealand, and then to Christchurch, New Zealand. From New Zealand, I will fly on a US Air Force plane to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. From this station, we board helicopters to get into our research areas...the Dry Valleys.

Question 5. How cold will it be and how will you keep from freezing? Answer - The weather will vary daily. It might be above freezing for a day or so, and then drop way below freezing the next day. Antarctica is the windiest continent with winds recorded over 200 miles per hour.

Demonstrating the ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear used to keep warm while in Antarctica

Question 6:Can I bring them back a mineral for their class? Answer - Nope. Antarctica has the most delicate ecosystem on Earth. We hope to leave the area we will be working in without having any trace that we were ever there.

Question 7: Are there bathrooms where I will be camping? Answer - Yep, we will use buckets and bottles. All of our poop and pee will be taken back with us on the helicopters. Yep...yucky!! We just don't want to leave any of that stuff that can ruin the ecosystem there.

Question 8: Will you bring a penguin home for me from your trip? Answer - Not a real one. Refer to the above answers to learn why.

What a great bunch of drawings and notes wishing Mr. Dickerson well on his Antarctic expedition

Mystery Explore: You guessed it...CAVE EXPLORER.